Louisville firefighters plan special day for boy with cancer

Kevin Olguin

Mariela Gonzalez

Captain Mark LaMasters

Stephanie Gonzalez

Kevin in the drivers seat of a fire truck.

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - What's it like to see all of your childhood dreams - and some you never imagined - come true? A nine year old boy found out Wednesday, gearing up with the help of some Louisville firefighters, meeting UofL football players even getting a proclamation from the mayor. It was a special day for a special boy.

What nine year old boy doesn't love a fire truck? Kevin Olguin is no exception. In most ways, Kevin is not any different than most kids his age, except maybe in the most important one. Watching him happily discover the secrets of being a firefighter with his Klondike Elementary classmates, you can't really see it, unless you look closely.

Kevin has brain cancer.

"I remember it was a Sunday cause we went to the park," said his sister Mariela Gonzalez. "It was nice."

Sisters Mariela and Stephanie Gonzalez saw the signs in November 2011.

"The food would go to his left side," said Mariela of a trip to a restaurant just before that park visit. "We noticed that his left side got dirtier and I was like, 'Why don't you clean your mouth?' When we took him to the park, I noticed he fell a lot. He was like, 'I'm falling.'"

Since then, Kevin has spent a lot of time not feeling so great.

"In the hospital, it's very like, uncomfortable in the hospitals," he said.

Kevin met Louisville Fire Captain Mark LaMasters on one of those days as LaMasters volunteered at Klondike.

"He came to the office," LaMasters said. "He wasn't having a good day, just kind of not feeling good."

LaMasters struck up a friendship with Kevin based on his love of all things firefighting and wanted to do something nice. Something nice turned into something special. Something special turned into something huge which turned into a day Kevin will never forget. It was filled with fun, football players and of course, his heroes, firefighters.

For Kevin, it's a day where he's the center of everybody's plans. For his family, it's proof that there are a lot of people with the same goal as theirs.

"We're not alone and we're all together fighting for this," said Stephanie.

"This is how I want to remember him," Mariela said. "Happy."

The Louisville firefighters have really been taken with Kevin and his family. They've set up a fund at 5/3 Bank to help them pay for his treatment.